Research Programme for Social Care (RPSC) Open Research

Here are some frequently asked questions that researchers may ask about the RPSC Open Research Gateway:

Scope and Access

1. What is the overall  focus of the RPSC Open Research Gateway?

The overall focus of this Gateway is to make RPSC funded research information easily accessible to everyone. 

       2. Is there any contractual obligation to publish in the Gateway? 

All RPSC grantholders are contractually bound to publish a Plain English Summary (PES)  of their projects within the 6 months of their final report approval. 

       3. What is the format of the Plain English Summary (PES)?

While there is no prescribed format or temp to follow for production of the Plain English Summary, it should cover the key aims, outcomes and potential impact (for people, commissioners/policy makers and practice as appropriate) of the  programme, together with how patient and public involvement shaped and influenced this.

The PES should be a maximum of 500 words and follow the same principles and procedures for writing the plain English summary that accompanied your funding submission. For further guidance please see the NIHR Plain English Summaries resource.

The PES will not be peer-reviewed on the platform, and will not be indexed like standard articles. However, all summaries will get a DOI and viewing/downloading metrics. For more information on the summary publication process within NIHR Open Research please check the website. 

       4. How can researchers access the data, publications, and resources within the Gateway?

The Gateway is placed within NIHR Open Research, an open access platform, where all submissions including the summaries are openly and freely available. 

       5. What can the Gateway publish? 

The Gateway can publish all kinds of standard output from research including academic articles, logic models, protocol papers, posters, and summaries. A list of the article types we publish can be found here. NIHR Open Research operates a post-publication open peer review model, you can find more information about how the model works here. Please note that NIHR Open Research has an open data policy, more information about this can be found here.

       6. How can a researcher submit their own work or data to be included in the Open Research Gateway?

Researchers can submit their work in two ways. The compulsory summary submission will take place via the RPSC Programme Team. The Programme team will contact individual grant holders to work closely for the summary submission. These summaries are NIHR internal reviewed only. 

Researchers can also submit academic articles via the RPSC Gateway, you can submit here. Please read the details for submission. Articles submitted to the Gateway undergo full peer review and are indexed in major databases like PubMed and Scopus if they pass peer review. 

      7. Can the Gateway publish final reports? 

 If the primary findings of any RPSC research remain unpublished and a minimum of two years has elapsed since the completion of the project, the findings stated in the final report can be published. This will be a case by case decision, and the RPSC Programme Team will communicate accordingly. 

      8. How long does it take to publish in the Gateway? 

 The Gateway is committed to publishing materials in the best possible time after completing the due diligence and where appropriate peer reviewing. Currently the Gateway is working to publish the first batch of summaries in April-May 2026. 

      9. What are the quality and ethical approval standards for submitted research?

 The RPSC programme team and the NIHR Open Research Gateway work closely with the researchers to ascertain all the quality protocols including plagiarism and ownership is agreed on. A list of the prepublication checks NIHR Open Research carries out, including ethical compliance, can be found here.

    10. Who should I contact for more information? 

If you already hold an RPSC grant, your grant manager should be the first point of contact for any question regarding the Gateway. You can also write to the info@openresearch.nihr.ac.uk for any general queries. 

    11.  Where can I get more information about the RPSC Programme? 

You can access all information about the Programme and its opportunities in the NIHR RPSC website.